Direct calls at new Vietnam port no time saver

Direct calls at new Vietnam port no time saver    Transit times from direct services between Vietnam's new deepwater container terminal complex in southern Vietnam and Los Angeles are not much different from those that use transshipment relays from feeder services nearer Ho Chi Minh City, according to the maritime news service Alphaliner.
   Alphaliner compared transit times on two new services that sail directly from the Cai Mep-Thi Vai deepwater port, some two hours by land south of Ho Chi Minh City, to a new Maersk service that uses a feeder service from a Ho Chi Minh City river terminal to connect to Los Angeles through Hong Kong.
   The two direct services, one offered by APL and MOL (PSX service) and the other by Hanjin (SJX), use barge service to connect cargo-generating areas near Ho Chi Minh City to deepwater terminals. Both the services give the same transit time of 17 days from Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles as does the revised Maersk TP-6 service, which calls in Hong Kong and connects Ho Chi Minh City through feeders.
   'Despite the improved reliability, the direct services are not able to offer faster transit times because of the additional way port calls served between Vietnam and the U.S. as well as the earlier cutoff times imposed due to the need to barge containers from Ho Chi Minh City to Cai Mep,' Alphaliner said.